


i can be your hero

by xjooheonx (jooheon)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Unfinished, powers from the MAMA mv, set....during MAMA promotions lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-21 22:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13750596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jooheon/pseuds/xjooheonx
Summary: Joonmyun never thought to negotiate a clause in his contract about dealing with mutant powers.





	i can be your hero

**Author's Note:**

> old old old WIP from the Exo days, based on the thought, 'What if they all had superpowers but they were really weak and lame?'   
> I have no ending planned but I do want to finish this lol.

The first time Chanyeol makes fire, everyone gathers around in awe of the bright orange flame wavering at the tip of his index finger.

"Congratulations," Kyungsoo says, "you've upped your magic trick game. How are you doing that, by the way? Your sleeves are too short to hide a lighter…"

"It's not a trick, it's _magic_ , you nonbeliever," Sehun says reverently. "Hyung, you have a real life superpower, what the _fuck_."

"I am the Phoenix," Chanyeol whispers to himself, staring at the tiny flame. " _I am the Phoenix._ "

"Don't set anything on fire," Joonmyun pleads. "There's still a fire extinguisher under the sink, right? And our smoke detectors work, don't they?" He looks frantically between the other members, who are decidedly underreacting to this Level 1 Disaster.

"Our smoke detectors work," Jongin says reassuringly. Chanyeol has unhelpfully starting waving his finger back and forth like a lightstick while Baekhyun and Sehun launch into the fanchants for Mama. "He won't burn the building down, if that's what you're worried about."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about," Joonmyun says feverishly. "I don't want to die, Jonginnie."

At that moment Joonmyun's phone rings, and he scuttles away from the others - Chanyeol is now shoving his finger in Baekhyun's _face_ and Joonmyun is going to have an _ulcer_ , dear god - before answering it. "Hello?"

"Hey." It's Minseok. "Something weird is happening."

"Please tell me it has nothing to do with magic or superpowers or any kind of supernatural nonsense."

A long pause.

Joonmyun sighs. "Who?"

"Kris can fly." Joonmyun sits down. Hard. On the floor. It's less of a conscious decision and more of a knees-giving-out situation. From behind him, he hears the continued ruckus of Chanyeol and his newfound firepower, and a concerned tut from Kyungsoo.

"Chanyeol, you better stop," Kyungsoo says dryly. "I think you broke the leader."

 

 

Joonmyun develops something of a nervous condition after that. He can't stop watching and monitoring and Chanyeol, because one) he's too young to die in a fire and he'd be sad if any of the other members were hurt, too; and two) if this secret gets out to _anyone_ , his ass (as leader) is on the line. He has, after all, agreed to hide the whole Chanyeol-Is-The-Phoenix thing from management. It's very difficult at first, because his every instinct is warning him against letting Chanyeol, wild-eyed and flush with the discovery of his Phoenix-ness, run around the dorm with a literal open flame. Joonmyun never thought to negotiate a clause in his contract about dealing with mutant powers. He should just tell the managers, the CEO, maybe a psychiatric ward, about this.

But the other five beg him not to, Chanyeol and Baekhyun breaking out a devastating puppy-eyes combo, Kyungsoo trying to look stern but just coming off cute with those massive round eyes of his, and Jongin of all people actually _pouting_. Joonmyun's not sure why exactly they're all so opposed to letting this out.

"I have to tell," Joonmyun says weakly, his eyes glued to the floor - the only safe place to look, really. "Otherwise, I mean, this could be dangerous. Really. For our safety - "

"They wouldn't believe you," Chanyeol interrupts. "Who'd believe you? It sounds ridiculous."

"But - "

"And if they _did_ believe you," Baekhyun says, "you know what'd happen, right?"

"They'd either lock him up," Kyungsoo puts in, "or kick him out of the group."

"And you don't want that, do you, hyung?" Chanyeol says, his voice low and coaxing. Joonmyun makes the mistake of looking up into his eyes, which are in full-on puppy dog mode, all big and brown and shiny and _damn it_.

"Of course I don't," Joonmyun says, defeated. "I won't tell anyone."

"Yay!" Chanyeol jumps forward to engulf Joonmyun in a bone-crushing hug. "You're the best, hyung!"

And Joonmyun likes to think that he's a man of his word, so he commits, in his heart, to keeping the secret. But when Chanyeol starts, predictably, using the threat of "raining hellfire upon whomsoever awakens the wrath of the Phoenix" whenever someone (usually Baekhyun) pisses him off over something trivial, Joonmyun starts seriously questioning his decision making skills. And when Chanyeol starts producing flames inadvertently, unconsciously singeing the sleeves of his sweatshirts where his casually curled fingers meet soft cotton during ten minute dressing room catnaps, Joonmyun starts seriously questioning his sanity.

The only thing stopping him from cracking at this point is the fact that Chanyeol's flames aren't very big. They're still about the size of a flame you'd get from a conventional drugstore lighter, which is enough to burn a piece of paper or light a candle, but not enough to really hurt a human being or, say, burn down the apartment complex and get them all arrested for arson. That, plus how strict Joonmyun has been about the use of flammable substances, means that the likelihood of serious injury or major property damage is pretty low.

But it's nerve-wracking nonetheless, especially since Minseok called again to sheepishly report the emergence of a second power in EXO-M.

"So, you know how my thing was ice?" Minseok says. Joonmyun's heart plummets.

"You're joking."

"I wish I was," Minseok says glumly. "No one will let me touch them anymore. Because they're afraid of freezer burn."

"That sucks," Joonmyun says. He thinks, a little guiltily, of how he's been shying away from Chanyeol's touch lately, too. It's nothing personal, of course. Just… a safety measure. "But… no one's been hurt, right?"

"No," Minseok says. "Jongdae's a whiny baby but no one's been hurt. It's not _that_ much ice. It's more like frost."

"Okay," Joonmyun says. "That's fine then. And Kris isn't, like… flying around, is he?"

"Flying is an exaggeration," Minseok says. "I'd describe it more as floating. He doesn't do it except when it's just the members, though."

"Good, good," Joonmyun says. He can just imagine the media circus that'd result if anyone saw an idol flying. Or even floating. "Keep me updated, will you?"

"I will," Minseok says. "I guess no one else on your end has suddenly started, I don't know… shooting laser beams or whatever?"

"Nah, Chanyeol's the only freak," Joonmyun says. "Fingers crossed it stays that way."

 

 

Of course, Joonmyun would never be that lucky.

"You've become very paranoid, hyung," Jongin observes.

"First Chanyeol and fire," Joonmyun mumbles. Four pieces of kimbap sit on a plate before him on the kitchen table. "Then Kyungsoo and fucking earthquakes. What's next? Is it gonna be you, Jongin? Are you gonna start teleporting? Can you take me with you? Take me with you and we can escape this nightmare, just the two of us, how about it?"

"And now you're delirious," Jongin says. "Listen, calm down okay? And eat something. I saved you some kimbap. You need to eat, alright?"

"I'm not hungry," Joonmyun says impatiently. From the other room, a muffled thump. Joonmyun jumps in his seat. "What was that? Was it Kyungsoo? Was it Chanyeol? Is he fighting with Baekhyun again? Oh god, is he really going to burn the sweatshirt? Oh my god - "

"I wouldn't blame him," Jongin says jokingly.

"Not funny," Joonmyun snaps. "Why am I the only one taking this seriously?"

Jongin sighs. "Hyung, we're taking it seriously. I get that you're concerned, and that's great, but just. We're concerned about you, too. Frankly at this point, I think Chanyeol seriously burning anything is way less likely than you having an actual mental breakdown. Him and Kyungsoo, they have their shit under control, and you, you kind of… don't. No offense."

"None taken," Joonmyun says, blinking. He looks up at Jongin, really looks. He's always been an intense kid, with dark eyes and thick brows and a tendency to brood, but he doesn't often look scared the way he does right now: like he's been chewing on this worry for as long as Joonmyun's been stressing about the Chanyeol thing. Like he has something to lose. It's kind of sweet actually, and through the exhaustion of idol life and the anxiety of living with a fire hazard and a seismological menace, Joonmyun manages a smile. "I'll try to chill out. Starting now."

"Great," Jongin says, and there's relief layered under the way he casually turns to head for the door. Halfway there, though, he turns to shoot Joonmyun a crooked little grin. "When I start teleporting, hyung, we can get away somewhere. A vacation or something. Just the two of us. You need that."

Joonmyun swallows as he watches Jongin walk away, the slope of his shoulders more man than boy and the cling of the black pants he's wearing more Kai than Jongin. Joonmyun's still watching long after Jongin's disappeared.

A bead of sweat races from his temple to his chin.

 

 

Jongin starts teleporting two weeks later, by which time everyone else in the group has established their superpowers. Or rather, as Sehun put it, "just powers." There really isn't anything "super" about them. Chanyeol's flame is still tiny, Kris still can't float more than a few centimeters off the ground, and now everyone else has unlocked their own mundane and very nearly useless abilities.

Baekhyun can make his palms light up with a faint luminescence, approximately the wattage of a dying flashlight. Kyungsoo can make the earth directly beneath his feet rumble and shake (Jongin's the only one who stands close enough to regularly feel the tremors). Sehun can conjure a small breeze, enough to keep his side of the room cool when Joonmyun closes the windows and doors at night. Over in China, Minseok makes frost, Jongdae conducts electricity, Zitao can slow down time for three second stretches, Luhan can levitate little things - pencils, playing cards - and when Yixing applies a bandaid, cuts and bruises seem to heal faster than usual.

And now, apparently, Jongin can teleport, which is just so dismally unfair. He can teleport all of about six inches, but still. It's better than nothing, and it's way better than what Joonmyun can do. At first, no one even really notices anything different about Joonmyun, other than his increasing twitchiness. But one day during dance practice, Jongin gives the leader a pat on the back, and his hand comes away from Joonmyun's T-shirt wet.

"Uh," Jongin says, eyeing his now-slick fingers. "Are you okay, hyung?"

"Fine," Joonmyun says, "why wouldn't I be?" He's surrounded by dongsaengs with supernatural powers and is spending every minute of every day on vigilant alert to keep that fact a secret from management, but _yeah_ , other than that he's just peachy keen.

"You're kind of, um," droplets speckling the hardwood floor directly beneath Joonmyun's chin catch the light, "dripping with sweat," Jongin says. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Perfectly fine," Joonmyun says, puzzled. He glances cagily over at the other members, who are beginning to raise their eyebrows. Suddenly, Sehun lets out an unseemly cackle. He whispers something to Baekhyun who snorts, and pretty soon all of them are rolling around on the floor, gasping with laughter.

"Hyung," Jongin says gravely, "your thing… in the music video… was water, right?"

(They both already know the answer to this. They've all watched it countless times since Chanyeol first made fire.)

"Yeah," Joonmyun says slowly, dread seizing his stomach. "Wait. Jongin. You don't think - "

Wordlessly, Jongin hands him a towel and walks away. Joonmyun supposes he doesn't blame him; there's really no good way to tell someone that the only superpower they have is that of super sweat glands.

 

 

"I can't believe," Joonmyun says faintly, "that you have the power to teleport, and I'm sitting here drowning in an ocean of my own bodily fluids. What did I do to deserve this, Jongin? I really want to know."

"You might have been a serial killer in a past life?" Jongin offers. Joonmyun whacks him on the head. "Hey, you asked."

They're in the living room on an off day, Jongin cross-legged on the floor playing a video game, Joonmyun sitting on the couch concentrating very hard on not sweating. It's only kind of working.

"I have to tell the managers," Joonmyun says at length. "I mean, from a logistical standpoint. My makeup's going to just melt off instantly. They'll notice that anyway."

"Go no makeup?" Jongin suggests. "Natural beauty."

Joonmyun laughs. "Haha, you think I'm beautiful?"

"I was kidding," Jongin says quickly. The tips of his ears go red. "Anyway, you can't tell them. You promised."

"I did," Joonmyun says mournfully. With a handkerchief, he pats gingerly at his damp forehead. "I'm a fool."

"When I get the hang of teleportation, we can go," Jongin says. "On that vacation."

"Yes, please," Joonmyun says wearily. He knows it's a joke but he can't stop himself from thinking of it: a cool ocean breeze playing on his face, sand between his toes and a cold drink in his hand, and Jongin would be there too, relaxed and smiling and shirtless and tan and that's not relevant to this fantasy at all. Joonmyun sits up straighter.

"Hang in there, hyung," Jongin says.

Joonmyun gulps. "I'm really, really trying."


End file.
